Whatever the starting point, it is clear that rock and roll appeared at a time when racial tensions in the United States were coming to the surface. African-Americans were protesting segregation of schools and public facilities. The "separate but equal" doctrine was overturned in 1954. It can hardly be a coincidence, then, that a musical form combining elements of white and black music should arise, and that this music should provoke strong reactions, of all types, in all Americans. On March 21, 1952 in Cleveland, OhioAlan Freed produced the first rock and roll concert.

Black performers first saw their songs recorded by white performers, an important step in the dissemination of the music, often at the cost of feeling and authenticity. Pat Boone recorded Little Richard songs. Little Richard retaliated by getting wilder, creating in "Long Tall Sally" a song that Boone couldn't cover. Ricky Nelson recorded Fats Domino. Later, as those songs became popular, the original artists' recordings received radio play as well. Furthermore, the covering artist frequently brought something to the song that wasn't there before, as in Bill Haley's cover of "Shake, Rattle and Roll[?]".

The British Invasion spawned a wave of imitators in the U.S.A. and across the globe. Many of these bands were cruder than the bands they tried to emulate. Playing mainly to local audiences and recording cheaply, very few of these bands broke through to a higher level of success. This movement that later became known as Garage Rock[?] gained a new audience when record labels started re-issuing compilations of the original singles, the best known of these is a series called Nuggets[?]. Some of the better known band of this genre include The Sonics[?], Question Mark (?) and the Mysterians, and The Standells[?].

As part of the societal ferment in North America and Europe generally, rock and roll changed in a number of subtle and not-so-subtle ways.

The music took on a greater social awareness; it was not just about dancing and smooching anymore, but took on themes of social justice.

The music itself broadened past the guitar-bass-drum format; while some bands had used saxophones and keyboards before, now acts like The Beatles (and others following their lead) experimented with wind sections, string sections, and full orchestration.

The Rolling Stones are credited with being the first band to dispense with band uniforms. Band members now simply wore whatever clothes they wished. As trivial as this sounds, it made a big impression on people at the time.

Musicians with classical and formal music backgrounds began to play rock and roll, leading to a greater emphasis on musicianship and composition, sometimes dispensing with the raw energy and power that characterized earlier manifestations of rock music. This genre became known as progressive rock. It is possible that Buddy Holly would not have recognized what Robert Fripp did as rock and roll.

As the idealism of the 1960s waned, some music became danceable again. The "Theme from Shaft" by Isaac Hayes, released in 1971, heralded what became known as disco music. Disco music was producer-driven music that was popular in places such as Studio 54[?] and other discotheques of the period. By 1980, a disco backlash occurred as the fad died down.

Punk music started off as a reaction to the lush, producer-driven sounds of disco, and against the commercialism of most progressive rock. Played by bands for which expert musicianship was not a requirement, punk was stripped-down three chord music that could be played easily. These bands also intended to shock mainstream society, as opposed to the "peace and love" image of the prior musical rebellion of the 1960s which had degenerated, punks thought, into mellow disco culture. Therefore, punks like The Sex Pistols deliberately rejected anything that symbolized "hippies": long hair, soft music, loose clothing, and liberal politics.